1
Opioid Epidemic in America
Nathan Stephenson
College of Arts & Sciences, Liberty University
ENGL 101: Composition and Rhetoric
Dr. Josephine Foster
May 31, 2020
2
Opioid Epidemic in America
Opioids have become a growing addiction in the United States, with the increase in
addiction to opioids, there has been a drastic increase in deaths from overdoses. This has
stemmed from over proscribing opioids for pain, the ease of access to uncontrolled opioids, and
the production of synthetic opioids. Though they can be used to treat pain and improve the
quality of life for some patients, many patients have been over medicated to improve their stay
and make them an easier patient to deal with (Corley, 2018). One way to help put an end to this
epidemic is to lower the number of opioids proscribed by doctors, even though it may be less
comfortable and even more painful for the patient, the risk of becoming addicted would be
reduced. With opioids becoming so accessible in recent year, there has been a steady increase in
addictions to opioids and has led to an increasing in deaths from overdoses. To help combat the
rise in addictions and deaths from opioids, doctors could stop proscribing opioids so heavily and
try using other forms of pain management after surgeries instead.
The addiction to opioids is not always intentional, many individuals, 75 percent to be
exact, who become addicted to opioids started using prescription painkillers to manage their
pain. (Corley, 2018). If 75 percent of opioid addicted individuals had never been prescribed
opioids, they are most likely never would have become addicts. "Both prescription and illicit
opioids, including heroin, morphine, codeine, methadone, hydrocodone, oxycodone,
